The Wrong Timing
by slytherinrules85
Summary: Draco and Hermione have the wrong timing for each other. Will they work it out? Songcookie series. COMPLETE.
1. I want you now

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the song. Written by and owned by Muse.

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_It's bugging me, it's grating me_

_And twisting me around_

_Yeah I'm endlessly caving in_

_And turning inside out_

The burning feeling was intensified whenever he saw her. He didn't like it, but one didn't choose who one fell in love with. Or so his mother claimed. He watched her laugh and talk with her friends. He tried to remind himself she was nothing, just a stupid mudblood not worth his notice. He didn't believe it, though. The tiny voice at the back of his mind whispered to him that all the 'blood' business was just stupid propaganda fed to him from his father. He tried to dismiss it. He surrounded himself with others, Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and, once, a Hufflepuffs. None of them were the same as her.

'_cause I want it now_

_I want it now_

_Give me your heart and your soul_

_And I'm breaking out_

_I'm breaking out_

_Last chance to lose control_

He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to forget the scent of her hair. He'd bumped into her on his way to Care of Magical Creatures and the smell overcame him. A whiff of it reached him and he breathed in deeply, savoring the scent of it, a light, summery smell of flowers with a hint of lavender.

_It's holding me, morphing me_

_And forcing me to strive_

_To be endlessly cold within_

_And dreaming I'm alive_

He sat in Potions, staring at her over his simmering cauldron of Courage-potion, adding his winterbean absently-mindedly. He saw her friends looking his way, with annoyed looks on their faces and he quickly pulled a smirk onto his face and sneer at them before picking up the next ingredient and adding it to the mixture. His thoughts drifted to what their children would look like, if they ever were, that is. He could see them now: perfect mixtures of them, a daughter who looked like him and acted like her and a son who looked like her and acted like him. They'd name them Raphael and Lisana.

'_cause I want it now_

_I want it now_

_Give me your heart and your soul_

_I'm not breaking down_

_I'm breaking out_

_Last chance to lose control_

He stared at her again, this time over lunch as he watched her delicately pick her way through green beans and shepherd's pie that was steaming and fresh. Her friends plopped down beside her, barraging her with their most likely useless and trivial conversation. The dark-haired one glanced his way, frowning, as she said something and nodded in his direction. For the second time that day he looked away quickly, hoping no one had seen his gaze. He glanced at his food before pushing it aside to go back to his dorm for a quick rest before classes.

_And I want you now_

_I want you now_

_I'll feel my heart implode_

_I'm breaking out_

_Escaping now_

_Feeling my faith erode_

The burning was more painful at dinner. He felt as if he was permanently attached to a Portkey, the sensation was so alike. Though he managed to eat most of his dinner he left midway through the meal, claiming a headache to fend off his more annoying "friends", who were more like groupies than friends.

Standing in the Entrance Hall, he kicked the wall and sighed. A small voice behind him said, "Malfoy?"

He whirled around. "Granger? What d'you want?"

She ventured forward carefully. "It's just, you seem to be looking at me quite a lot recently…."

"So?" he asked, leaning up again the wall now pushing his hair out of his face.

She bit her lip. His eyes focus on it as it turned a bright pink and he heard a small gasp from her as a trickle of bright red blood came down her chin. "Now you see," he said, pulling his handkerchief out, "you shouldn't bite your lips when they're so dry. It's not good for them." He pressed the cloth to her lip and gazed down at her, his face a slightly softened version of his normal mask.

"Fahnk 'oo," she said, speech impeded by the cloth.

"You're welcome." He turned around, knowing this was something that mustn't ever happen again, if only for her safety. "Keep the kerchief, I don't need it back."

A thought haunted him as his insides burned while he made his way back to the Slytherin dungeons:

_We can never be together. _

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**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this. Originally wrote for the Cookie Jar of the S.S. Leather & Libraries at Based on the song _Hysteria_ by Muse.


	2. Hopelessly

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or the song '_Endlessly_'. The song is entirely Muse's.

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_There's a part of me you'll never know_

_The only thing I'll never show_

She stared at him, knowing he didn't know she watched him back. She hoped he would figure it out sometime, but occasionally she wanted to end the charade and go over to him and tell him her feelings for everyone to know. Thankfully her friends were there to tell her that would be foolish and only cause him to mock her. Then the world came crashing down on her and she realized he would never love her. He "was above" her. He "was superior" to her. So she watched from a distance, and loved him more.

_Hopelessly, I'll love you endlessly, hopelessly_

_I'll give you everything, but I won't give you up_

She gave up on hope of him loving her last term when he sneered at her when she was given an 'O' in front of the entire Arithmancy class. She knew he wouldn't love her. Hope, though, wouldn't give up on her. It tugged at her heartstrings every time she caught him glancing her way. She was sure he was only watching her because of something his father told him to do, but hope lingered still, causing her to wake up in the middle of the night, sweating, with her nightshirt soaked around the neck from the tears she didn't remember shedding.

_I won't let you down, I won't leave you falling_

_If the moment ever comes _

She was sure that if he ever showed an inclination towards her she would never leave him hanging. She told her friends that, and they said that if she continued to hold onto a useless cause she would lose herself in the throes of her fantasy world. But she knew that if he fell from his hold on his own personal world she would be there to catch him and bring him into the light.

_It's plain to see, it's trying to speak_

_Cherished dreams forever sleep_

She never told her friends, but every night she dreamed of him. Dreamed of what their life together could be. A manor was frequently featured, and sometimes she saw two laughing children running past them. The girl had white-blonde hair like him and the boy looked like her, with curly brown hair. She then looked into his smiling face and heard him whisper, "I love you."

_Hopelessly, I'll love you endlessly, hopelessly_

_I'll give you everything but I won't give you up_

No matter what her friend said she refused to give up the thought of him. Her grades weren't dropping, and neither was her involvement in their lives. She could daydream all she wanted, she told them. Then they normally sighed and told her it was a pipedream, something that would never come to be. She ignored them and continued to watch him from afar, loving him more with every breath she took.

_I won't let you down, I won't leave you falling_

_But the moment never comes_

Then, finally, one night at dinner she was watching him as he got up and left. Her heart panged. She usually looked forward to dinner as a chance to watch him without being noticed by her friends.

She excused herself from the conversation going around her and followed him. She saw him kick the wall and then sigh, leaning up against it.

"Malfoy?" she ventured quietly.

He started and whipped around quickly. "Granger?" he said, surprised. "What d'you want?"

She licked her lips and stepped forward carefully. "It's just, you seem to be looking at me quite a lot recently…" She chewed on her lower lip while waiting for an answer.

He moved to lean against the wall again and swept his pale blonde hair out of his eyes. "So?"

His short and matter-of-fact answer surprised. She bit down on her lip harder than usual. She felt the skin come apart and gasped. Her fingers went to her face as her blood dripped down her chin. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, saying, "Now you see, you shouldn't bite your lips when they're so dry. It's not good for them." He gently pressed the cloth to her lips and looked into her eyes, his expression softening.

"Fahnk 'oo," she lisped through the handkerchief.

"You're welcome," he said as he turned away from her and walked away. "Keep the kerchief, I don't need it."

She stood there and a single tear leaked out of her eye and ran down her face until it was absorbed by the kerchief. She clutched the cloth tightly, knowing she would never throw it away. It was her one link to the one she loved.

Knowing he couldn't hear her, she whispered, "I love you, Draco Malfoy."

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**A/N:** Sequel to 'I want you now'. Originally written for the cookie jar of the S.S. Leather & Libraries at Based off of a Muse song, _Endlessly_.


	3. Falling Away Without You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or the song 'Falling Away With You', which is owned and written by Muse.

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_I can't remember when it was good_

_Moment of happiness elude_

_Maybe I just misunderstood_

He still watched her. He loved her. He couldn't stop. So he watched. He'd taken to finishing dinner early and going out to stand in the Entrance Hall, sometimes hoping she'd come out to see him. Every minute his mind flickers back to the whispered sentence he'd heard coming down the stairs. Her voice, saying the words "I love you, Draco Malfoy." The words burned into his being. But it wasn't a particularly good thought. Happiness seemed to run from him in all he did.

_All of the love we left behind_

_Watching the flash backs intertwine_

_Memories I will never find_

He thought about everything they had given up. He thought about how they gave up each other, gave up on love. Every moment he thought about the scant minutes they had been talking. Every moment he wished he'd been brave enough to admit he loved her. But he also tried to push the memories back and every day it got harder to remember.

_So I'll love whatever you become_

_And forget the reckless things we've done_

_I think our lives have just begun_

_I think our lives have just begun_

He knew she was going to be an Auror. He knew she knew he would take the Dark Mark. Whether she knew it wasn't willingly, he didn't know. But with every gaze they traded, he hoped she would somehow feel that he would never harm her, not intentionally. The Headmaster made a speech about youth and its ideas one night that stuck him oddly. He thought about asking her to run away with him, to start over, to become someone else with him. But he knew she wouldn't come.

_And I'll feel my world crumbling_

_I've feel my life crumbling_

_I'll feel my soul crumbling_

_And falling away_

_Falling away with you_

And then one day his world fell apart. He was standing in the Entrance Hall, hoping for her to come out. She did, and for a few moments, it was just them in the world with no one else. It was broken when her dark-haired friend came out and spoke to her, smiling, saying sweet, loving things. And then the unthinkable happened: the dark-haired one leaned down and kissed her on her lips. He stared at the pair in shock and fury came over him. When they separated, and the dark-haired one left, she stared at him, looking straight into his eyes and the world fell away again. But this time he broke the moment just as she stepped forward. He turned around and strode down the stairs to his dormitory where he would take a shower, where he could cry without anyone knowing.

_Staying awake to chase a dream_

_Tasting the air you're breathing in_

_I know I won't forget a thing_

He dreamed of her that night. He woke up sweat-soaked and panting, the images still vivid in his mind. He lay there the rest of the night trying to fall back into the dream, to finish what had been started, to stare into her face for the entire night. But when morning dawned and he hadn't slept again, he swore never to forget the dream; never to forget the one time they'd talked, which would probably be the only time.

_Promise to hold you close and pray_

_All of the hopes we cherished fade_

_Making the same mistakes again_

_Making the same mistakes again _

He continued to see her and her dark-haired friend together, holding hands and kissing, which made him so angry he couldn't stand to look at her. But sometimes he cheered when he saw them kissing and her eyes were wide open, staring at him past her boyfriend's head, a longing deep in her eyes. But he knew it was a mistake, a horrible one, to love her. It was something that would get him killed if anyone ever knew, most especially his father.

_And I'll feel my world crumbling_

_I've feel my life crumbling_

_I'll feel my soul crumbling_

_And falling away_

_Falling away with you_

So when he heard she was engaged to her boyfriend, he started to make plans. He contacted friends of his mother who he knew hated his father. He made a new identity. It would be the end of his school career in two days and he planned on leaving immediately. He had no life here, not with her, and not with Death Eaters. He knew there was no one who would want him to stay, except maybe her. And he couldn't stay for anyone, especially her. He couldn't give in; he wouldn't. As he stepped onto the train to leave school for good, he hoped, in his heart of hearts, that she would beg him to stay.

_All of the love we've left behind_

_Watching the flashbacks intertwined_

_Memories I will never find_

_Memories I will never find_

When the train arrived at the station, he planned to wait until no one was left on the platform to Apparate away. But as everyone exited the train in a milling mass, his compartment door slid open and she stood there, staring at him.

"You're leaving." It sounded like a statement, but from the expression on her face, it was an accusation.

"Yes," he said, turning towards the window. "There's nothing for me here."

A hand touched his forearm. He twitched. "What about me?" she asked quietly.

He turned to look at her. "What about you?" he asked, trying not to be too harsh. She looked taken-aback. "You're marrying _him_. I know. Everyone knows. It's not something you can escape. And there's no life for me here." He fell silent and looked out the window again.

"We could always be together, even if I am with Harry," she said hesitantly.

"And what's Potter going to think when all of his children turn up with blonde hair and a sarcastic side the size of Russia?" he asked, laughing bitterly. "I don't want to be the 'man on the side', surely you know that."

"I don't love him," she pleaded. He looked into her eyes, which were filling with tears. "Please, don't leave me."

"If I don't leave," he said, "I'll become a Death Eater. It's inevitable. I don't want to hurt you, nor your… friends. No matter how much I loathe them." His expression softened. "You could always come with me," he offered.

She shook her head tearfully. "No. I can't leave them. They need me."

"Then we're at a standstill," he said, bitterness seeping into his voice. "I need you, they need you. You need me, you can't leave them. But one thing's certain."

"What?" she whispered, wiping a tear from under her eye.

"I'm leaving." He picked up his trunk and his owl and walked past her and got off the train, making sure the platform was clear enough first.

"No!" she exclaimed, running after him as he walked to the least crowded area, preparing to Apparate. "No, you can't! You can't leave!" She started to sob.

He set down his luggage and glanced around before pulling her behind a pillar and putting his arms around her, savoring the smell of her and the feel of her against him. "I have to," he said quietly into her ear.

"You're never coming back?" she whispered against his chest.

He kissed the top of her head and let her go. He gave her a small smile before saying, "Maybe someday. But not soon. Not until the war's over."

"How will I get in contact with you?" she asked, wiping the tears off as they came down her face.

"I'll reach you," he said, pretending to fiddle with his trunk. "When you go on your honeymoon, make sure it's somewhere in Europe. I should be able to find you."

She laughed shortly, blinking at the shining ring on her finger. "If I get married, you mean."

He snapped the trunk closed and turned to her. "Get married. Have a life. Don't become a recluse because I'm not here. Someday I'll come back and we can be together. But just try to live. And remember," he said, tilting her chin up so their eyes met, "I love you." He kissed her then. It was a short kiss, but it was full of his love for her, and her love for him. And when they separated moments later, he smiled at her, nodded, and was gone with a small popping noise.

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**A/N:** Songcookie originally written for the S.S. Leather & Libraries at 


	4. Absolution

**Disclaimer:** Originally written for the Cookie Jar of the SS: L&L on FA. I do not own Harry Potter or the song '_Sing for Absolution_' which is owned by Muse.

**A/N:** First possible ending to this fic.

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_Lips are turning blue_

_A kiss that can't renew_

_I only dream of you_

_My beautiful_

Hermione stood in the doorway of her son's room, smiling at his little form tucked up in his "big boy" bed, sucking his thumb as he slept on. The feeling of happiness evaporated when she started to twist her wedding ring nervously. A hand touched her shoulder. She whirled around. Her husband stood there, smiling lovingly. He kissed her goodnight and went to bed, leaving her alone with herself, which wasn't what she wanted. She shivered, feeling more alone than ever.

_Tiptoe to your room_

_A starlight in the gloom_

_I only dream of you_

_And you never knew_

She stayed in the doorway that entire night, unable to face the loving words and touches from her husband. She returned his love, but not in the way she knew he wanted. She felt uneasy around him. More and more she slept in the doorway of her son's room, with the hope of seeing the one she loved come and collect her and take her and their son away. But he never came. Never.

_Sing for absolution_

_I will be singing_

_And falling from your grace_

She felt so guilty with her secret. So guilty because she knew she was. Guilty for loving another. Guilty for leaving the hotel room to meet another man on their honeymoon and then loving him in a way she shouldn't. Guilty for lying when she became pregnant on their honeymoon and saying it must've been that night on the beach. Some of the guilt disappeared when her son was born. When she cradled him in her arms for the first time she named him on the spot, not caring if her husband objected. She knew there was something different about the boy, but he loved him anyway. She felt guilty when the child grew hair, the tiny wisps of white-blonde hair that were so familiar in many ways. She felt guilty when she lied and said she was one of the few non-blonde members of her family. Oh, how she felt the guilt.

_There's nowhere left to hide_

_In no one to confide_

_The truth burns deep inside_

_And will never die_

She couldn't tell anyone. Her friends knew her husband and would surely tell him. Besides, she couldn't make another being share the weight of her burden. So she looked for her love everywhere she went, watching and waiting all the time, hoping to see him someday, somewhere. But something inside of her told her that the week in Greece was over, had been over for three years. He would never come back. She was alone.

_Lips are turning blue_

_A kiss that can't renew_

_I only dream of you_

_My beautiful_

The few nights she spent with her husband were fretful and she tossed and turned, dreaming only of her love. When she awoke, she half-hoped it was him. But no, it was the other. Always the other. Never him. Occasionally she sneaked a look at her one picture of him. It was from her honeymoon. They were standing on the beach and he had his arms around her, grinning and laughing at something she had said to him. He looked just like she knew he would. But sometimes all she hoped for was for the other man to forgive her, even if he didn't know what she had done.

_Sing for absolution_

_I will be singing_

_And falling from your grace_

Rain poured down outside and she sat in the living room with her son on her lap, playing a game with him, wishing her love was here to see it. The other man was at work, where he was all the time, where she wished he would stay. But he would be home soon. Someone knocked on the door and her heart skipped a beat. She carefully made her way to the door to open it.

The door opened easily under her fingertips. He stood there, dripping from the rain, his hair dyed black and his face as pale as death. She stared at him, her hand over her mouth in shock and happiness as she pulled him inside and to her. His arms encircled her and he kissed her passionately until she pulled herself from him with difficulty and ushered him into the living room, where their son sat playing with blocks and naming the colors with uncertainty.

"Green," Nathan said, putting the block on top of the stack.

"Draco," she said slowly, "this is your son."

He stood silent for a long moment before his said in a broken voice, "My son?"

"Yes," she said, a tear drop falling from her eye. She turned to their son. "Nathan, come here." The toddler walked slowly over to her, eying the unknown warily. "Nathan, sweetheart, this is your daddy. He's come to take us away."

"Daddy?" the three-year-old asked. He walked over to Draco carefully. "Daddy?"

"Yes, I'm your daddy," his father said, picking the child up and tickling his chin. "How would you like a pony?"

"Pony?" Nathan perked up.

"Hermione, who's this?" said a new voice. She and her love whirled around to face the other man, her husband.

"Harry, don't be mad…" she started out. "I didn't want you to know like this."

"Malfoy?" the other man said. "I thought you were dead? Why are you holding my son? Put him down!"

"Obviously I'm not dead Potter," he said. "And this boy is my son."

The other man stared at her. "I thought you were over him. Nathan's only three, how did you-" He choked. "No. Our honeymoon. My God, why would you do that to me?"

She looked at him mournfully. "I tried to cancel the wedding, don't you remember? Several hundred times. I told you that wasn't what I wanted. But you wouldn't listen! I had to be happy somehow. I love you, Harry, but just as a friend."

Her love took her hand and escorted her past her husband. "You'll be hearing from my lawyers, Potter. I am sorry you had to find out this way. You can still see Nathan if you'd like, but please don't refer to him as 'son'. Goodbye."

_Our wrongs_

_Remain unrectified_

_And our souls_

_Won't be exhumed_

They walked down the street, smiling and connected by their hands. She finally felt whole and loved. Her old guilt washed away. But now she had new guilt. She felt guilty for ruining her husband's life.


	5. I Couldn't

**Disclaimer:** Originally written for the Cookie Jar of the SS: L&L on FA. I do not own Harry Potter or the song _'Stockholm Syndrome'_ which is owned by Muse.

**A/N:** Second possible ending to this fic.

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_I won't stand in your way_

_Let your hatred grow_

_And she'll scream and she'll shout_

_And she'll pray and she had a name_

_Yeah she had a name_

He watched her from afar. He knew she didn't know he was at her wedding, but he watched her walk down the aisle from a hill, hidden under an Invisibility Cloak and a Silencing charm. He heard from a mutual friend—Blaise, who she worked with in the Department of Mysteries—that she hated him. Once he snuck into her house, thinking of returning, but he heard her crying. He had turned the corner quietly to see her crouched in the doorway, crying. He had started towards her, whispering her name "Hermione, Hermione," but stopped, scared, in the middle of the hallway and Apparated away before she saw him.

_I won't hold you back_

_Let you anger rise_

_And we'll fly and we'll fall and we'll burn_

_No one will recall, no one will recall_

And though he saw her during her honeymoon, he let her go without stopping her. When he told her to leave she screamed at him, hitting him with her small fists, tears streaming down her red face. He knew she was only like that for wanting to stay with him. He knew that once she settled into life with her husband, she would forget all about him. And yet every time he thought of that, he started to cry.

_This is the last time I'll abandon you_

_And this is_

_The last time I'll forget you_

_I wish I could_

He couldn't ever let her go, not completely. She would always be a part of him, lingering, like her scent did on his pillow when they saw each other in Greece. He preserved that pillow, keeping it away from anything that might change the smell, keeping her in his house, even though she wasn't there. He knew he wouldn't ever forget her.

_Look to the stars let hope burn in your eyes_

_And we'll love and we'll hate_

_And we'll die_

_All to no avail, all to no avail_

He remembered how hopeful she'd been when he saw her in Greece. He knew then that they couldn't be together; not then. He knew that they would have to part every night when she went back to her husband. He knew she would die when he told her they couldn't remain as they were. And yet he held off for as long as he could, cherishing the moments they made together, on remote beaches and in his apartment. Their long, slow, hazy afternoons together. Whenever he felt lonely, he just closed his eyes and went back to those two weeks, feeling her on him over and over.

_This is the last time I'll abandon you_

_And this is_

_The last time I'll forget you_

_I wish I could_

So he went back, after he knew Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters were gone, three years after her marriage. He walked around London for hours, wondering if he was making the right decision for both of them. Wondering if she still loved him. Wondering if her husband would kill him once he found out.

He threw his worries to the wind, though. Love overruled reason and he made his way to their apartment, learning that they were on a picnic at the local park. He gritted his teeth and set out for the park. They were in a little valley in between two large hills, sitting on a checkered blanket, laughing. He walked up the hill that was behind her husband, adjusting his black robes with his left hand gripping his wand. When he reached the crest of the hill, he looked down at them and caught her eyes. The moment she saw him, her mouth fell open and she stood up.

As he walked down the hill she walked towards him, eyes fixed on his, not responding to the calls of her husband or even acknowledging that he was calling her. When she reached him, she stood still and stared for a moment, not even believing he was real.

"I tried to forget you," she whispered to him, as her husband's footsteps neared.

"I hoped you would," he replied, fingertips brushing back a strand of hair from her face.

"I couldn't," she said. "At one point, I wished that I could, but I couldn't."

"I knew you wouldn't," he said, fingers traveling down her face until they were tracing the outline of her lips.

"I'm glad I didn't," she said. Her husband was only two feet away and was yelling at her, "What the hell is going on, Hermione? How long has it gone on?"

He turned to stare at her husband and titled his head a bit. "It seems, Potter," he said, "that you've got my wife here."

The man named Potter stared at him. "What? Are you sodding nuts? Hermione is i_my/i_ wife!"

"I was," she, who was Hermione, said. "But not anymore, I'm sorry." She turned to look at Potter sadly. "I never loved you as I loved Draco. I'm so very sorry that it ended like this, but I never thought I'd see Draco again. I'll… be in touch."

They walked away, hand in hand, leaving behind a stunned Potter and an old life. When they reached his home, they kissed tenderly, passionately, for the first time in years. They also began their new life.


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